In this image taken from BP video, the transition spool, top half in yellow, which goes into the wellhead before the new containment cap is placed on top, is maneuvered into place July 11, 2010. (AP Photo/BP PLC)

(Newser)
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BP expects to attach a tight, new cap today on its blown-out oil well in the Gulf of Mexico, but it will take 48 hours of testing to determine whether the fix will be enough to finally stop crude from gushing into the Gulf. The new cap, known as "Top Hat 10," was about 300 feet from the point where it's supposed to connect with the leaking well, BP COO Doug Suttles said in a briefing this morning.

The BP executive was careful to keep expectations grounded, stressing that it will take days to know whether it can withstand the pressure of the erupting oil and feed it through pipes to surface ships. The cap and vessels together make up BP's plan to stop oil from spewing into the Gulf for the first time since April 20. Once the cap is firmly in place, the company will begin "shutting in" the well by closing perforated pipe at the top. The company will be looking to see if the pressure rises under the cap. If it does, that means there are no other leaks, and the cap is stopping oil from leaking into the Gulf. But lower pressure readings may indicate leaking elsewhere in the well. In that case, Suttles said, the company will work to collect the leak with surface vessels and by dropping yet another cap on top of the stack.

We are all hoping (nay praying) that the string of disasters and incompetence can't possibly go on indefinitely...

mikech

Jul 12, 2010 11:33 AM CDT

Here again we have BP attempting to recover their investment at the expense of the environment. IMO, they should be permanently sealing the well using what ever technology is needed to make this hole in the ocean's floor safe for the environment. If they can control the well sufficiently to extract its oil to surface ships, they should be able to permanently seal it.